Watchdog: Afghan forces won't be ready for U.S. withdrawal

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Watchdog: Afghan forces won't be ready for U.S. withdrawal
By Reid Davenport | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Monday, June 28, 2010

WASHINGTON — Afghanistan's military and police aren't on track to meet President Barack Obama's 18-month timetable for starting to withdraw U.S. troops, according to a report released on Monday by an independent watchdog group.

Despite assurances last week by Army Gen. David Petraeus, the newly appointed U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, that the Afghan National Security Forces are making significant progress in anticipation of Obama's July 2011 deadline, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction said that the benchmarks that are being used to assess the security forces are misleading.

"Serious challenges affect U.S. and Coalition assessment efforts, including security conditions, mentor shortages, and inadequate training," the report said. "Further, systemic (Afghan security force) deficiencies have undermined efforts to develop unit capabilities."

An independent, effective Afghan military and police force are key for U.S. troops to begin their departure from a nearly nine year conflict that's cost more than 1,100 American lives, it said.

The report's criticisms of Afghan military training range from logistics problems to drug abuse and illiteracy.